She was only thirty years old when she died in a plane crash fifty four years ago today but in her short life she had married twice and had two children with her second husband - Charlie Dick. The children were called Julie and Randy. Yes. That's right. Her son is named Randy Dick.
Over here in England, if you were unfortunate enough to have the surname Dick, the last Christian name you would ever choose for a boy would be Randy - though you wouldn't want to call him Red or Floppy either. Over here, "randy" is used in exactly the same way as "horny" is used in North America.
It seems that Randy Dick used to earn his money as a drummer in Nashville but unlike the rest of us he doesn't have much of an internet trail. I searched for him but just couldn't track him down. However, I discovered that there are plenty of other fellows in America called Randy Dick. In fact there's an army of them. Randy Dicks everywhere and here's just four of them courtesy of Google:-
Currently there's even a Randy Dick in The White House! Crazy!
The dick in the White House needs some serious performance enhancing
ReplyDeleteRichard Nixon was of course also a Dick.
DeleteParents' choice of first names for their children is often puzzling, especially considering their last name. I wonder whether Randy is short for Randolph. And isn't Dick (as a first name) strangely enough used as a short form of Richard?
ReplyDeleteYour previous post about bellmouths was fascinating. I seem to remember you showed one of them on your blog before, or maybe I have seen it somewhere else. In any case, I'd love to see one up close (not too close!) in real life.
Yes I did feature a couple of bellmouths before.
DeleteBy the way did you see this in "Urban Dictionary"?
"A gorgeous gal who is friends with everyone and is very smart. A German name that is rare and unique."...It's their definition of Meike!
No one sings Crazy better than Patsy Cline in my opinion. I hadn't realised she died so young. I don't know any Randy Dicks but I went to school with Peter Rabbit.
ReplyDeleteWere you known as Flopsy or Mopsy?
DeletePatsy Cline....unique and wonderful Patsy Cline; such a beautiful, rich voice she had. I still love her voice, and I play her music often. She had a pretty tough life in many ways. A couple of years before her death in the plane crash she almost died in a head-on car crash in which the driver of the other vehicle died.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of Willie Nelson, too. I saw him live in concert in 2001...and he was absolutely terrific! It was a great concert.
I could imagine you as a Patsy Cline tribute act, singing along to your fans in The Drift Cafe Lounge Bar.
DeleteI can't.
DeleteYou actually started searching RANDY DICK on the internet? Brave soul.
ReplyDeleteNow you come to mention it I was shocked by some of the other Randy Dick images that popped up.
DeleteI didn't realize she died so young, either. Such a shame; I adore her music.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of funny names, I like it when someone's name matches their profession. I went to school with a girl whose last name was Finger. Her dad was a doctor, Dr. Finger....guess what kind? A gynecologist!!! Hahaha! True story.
There was a teacher in one of my schools called Mrs Boreham! And my kids had a clumsy Science teacher called Mr Careless.
DeleteI hope, following your google search, that Big Brother is not monitoring your interests! People name their kids without giving it a second thought. My sister-in-law works as a secretary at a hospital and in the course of her work has come across Henrietta Pye, twins called Pearl and Sydney Harber, Annette Kirton and Dwayne Piper. What were the parents thinking?
ReplyDeleteI used to teach a boy called Alan Alan. I guess his parents lacked imagination when it came to boys' names.
DeleteYou must be feeling a little randy yourself, my brother, to be searching for all the Randy Dick's that you can find on the internet on this beautiful Sunday. Geez! Go for a walk, would you?
ReplyDeleteI swear that researching Randy Dicks was just a by-product of finding out about Patsy Cline and listening to some of her songs! Honest!
DeleteI didn't know that Willie Nelson wrote Crazy, despite being very familiar with Patsy Cline's version. She had a terrific voice and a tragic end.
ReplyDeleteAnd, yeah, naming children - why do parents not think about the child, for heaven's sake?! I went to school with a Patty Cake and a Johnny Cake. There was a large Cake family and I didn't know the rest. There may have been other interesting iterations as well.
They could have at least named the kids Victoria Sponge and Lemon Drizzle!
DeleteWe had a Norwegian friend called Randi. She was horrified when she first found out the British meaning of her name. So many people (British)asked her if she knew what her name meant and she would always reply "Yes, and before you ask the second question - the answer is no !"
ReplyDeletePerhaps we should all be named after our main character traits. Then I would be known as Miseryguts. What would be your new name CG - Joys Of Spring or perhaps Shopaholic?
DeleteI've no idea, but I'm a bit too long in the tooth to claim the Spring part, and definitely not a Shopaholic !
DeleteI have a former daughter-in-law who sounded just like Patsy Cline when she sang "Crazy" and she also sounded just like Karen Carpenter and Linda Ronstadt when she sang songs of theirs.
ReplyDeleteI went to school with Ima Angel. My daughter has a teaching colleague named Ivy Ivey. Texas (where I grew you) used to have the daughter of a governor and grande dame of Houston society, Ima Hogg.
THAT SHOULD BE "grew up" -- NOT "grew you"!!!!
DeleteHa-ha! Ima Hogg? You just couldn't make it up! I bet she got second helpings at Houston society dinners.
DeleteWhat a conclusion! We could call him a few other things too. I liked Patsy Cline. I'm surprised she was known in England.
ReplyDeleteCountry music has many fans in England. That's always been the case. But in my view country music can't compete with your four great Canadians - Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Gordon Lightfoot.
DeleteAmen! What about kd lang, Ian tyson, randy Bachman( there's the name you don't lik). Berton Cummings?
DeleteVery funny. My cousin who lives in Wales has a friend called Shiela Blige. Have to stop myself laughing every time I meet her !
ReplyDeleteTony loves Country music so I have jeard most of them wailing about lost loves, mother-in-laws and old dogs for years. Then there are the Aussie ones - especially one girl who really does sound like a cat wailing who sings about not being pretty enough !!!
A girl can only stand so much though I do admit singing along with a few !
Wailing is a very good description of C&W singers, Helsie !
DeleteOn names - an old teaching colleague married a woman called Nora Bone. You can't blame her parents as the surname was acquired from her first husband.
DeleteAccording to this website, the popularity of the name Randy in the US spiked around 1955 and has been falling ever since.
ReplyDeleteLike Meike, I'd always assumed that Randy was a diminutive of Randolph, but it's actually the name Randall that is most likely to be shortened. You live and learn.
It's a pity that back in 1939 your parents didn't consider the name Randy ahead of your birth. Randy Rhodes has a nice ring to it and it would have made you secretly popular with the girls down at the youth club.
DeleteI wonder if it is too late to change my name by deed poll...
DeleteToo late for the youth club I'm afraid.
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